Hispanic Eating Attitudes Shaped by Millennials

CHICAGO — Sixty-five percent of U.S. Hispanics are Millennials, ages 22 to 35. It is this Millennial group that significantly influence Hispanics' overall eating attitudes and behaviors.That is according to market researcher The NPD Group. NPD's food and beverage market research finds that heritage plays an important role in food preparation for U.S. Hispanic Millennials as it does with U.S. Hispanics in general.

Ready-to-eat, fresh, and from scratch are the most common food forms during Hispanic meal preparation, according to NPD's National Eating Trends Hispanic research, which captures in-home and away-from-home food and beverage consumption habits of U.S. Hispanics by level of acculturation. Stove top preparation dominates Hispanic meals more than non-Hispanic meals due to the types of dishes being prepared, especially at lunch when Hispanics typically prepare large meals. U.S. Hispanics are much less likely to microwave.

U.S. Hispanic Millennials display a preference for Hispanic dishes that reflect their heritage, NET Hispanic finds. Hispanic dishes (excluding frozen) are included in seven percent of all meals consumed by Hispanic Millennials compared to two percent of non-Hispanic Millennial meals. Sandwiches are included in 16 percent of non-Hispanic Millennial meals and 10 percent of Hispanic Millennial meals. Rice, a popular U.S. Hispanic food, is included in only 3 percent of non-Hispanic Millennial meals.

"U.S. Hispanics are youthful and therefore represent future opportunities for food and beverage marketers, especially now that their population growth is coming more from births than immigration," says Darren Seifer, NPD food and beverage industry analyst. "Understanding which product categories appeal to each Hispanic consumer group will be critical to effectively connecting with these consumers and understanding the situations and motivations that drive category consumption will enable food companies to influence future sales to these groups."